Diogenes:No one cares about Ted Nugent either. But in the interest of fairness I think it's appropriate to denounce her words.

I don't care enough about Joy Behar to click this link, but did she say this asinine crap at a democratic political rally analogous to CPAC where President Obama was also speaking? Or did she just say it on some TV show no one watches?

Here's the thing about that. The consequences of Mitt Romney's professed ideology is that more houses WILL burn down, and in the process result in more people burning to death. Mitt Romney doesn't say it specifically, but his wish is that more people "Die in a fire." Interestingly, there's no particular malice associated with this wish. He just desires that more randomly selected people burn to death in fires. And not just a few of them, but in pretty significant numbers. Numbers big enough that were it one event, the delta between the status quo and his policies would be a long remembered international event. Elect Mitt Romney, and see his policies enacted is exactly equivalent to seeing large numbers of people burn to death in preventable/controllable fires. Then we start adding in the poisoning of drinking water, and increased cancer deaths, et al. What is the offset of these many lost lives, uncountable lost years of productivity? Tax cuts for the wealthy, who will continue poorly allocating wealth lent to them, thus reducing economic efficency even more.

So, yeah, it's morally defensable to advocate the violent murder of Mitt and Ann Romney. Trading two lives of objectively terrible, if not overtly malicious, people for the lives of thousands of random individuals, annually. The devil's calculus provides a clear result.

Over-react much? I have no problem with what she said. She isn't saying, wow I really hope this guys house burns down. She said it as I hope he gets to feel the repurcussions of his stupid policies. Anyway, his families magic underwear would save them if there really were a fire.

The Homer Tax:Diogenes: No one cares about Ted Nugent either. But in the interest of fairness I think it's appropriate to denounce her words.

I don't care enough about Joy Behar to click this link, but did she say this asinine crap at a democratic political rally analogous to CPAC where President Obama was also speaking? Or did she just say it on some TV show no one watches?

There's kind of a difference.

No, and you do have a point. But instead of getting into a pissing match over whose words are worse or carry more import, I'm choosing to say Behar was over the line. Arguing degrees of wrongness in cases like this just perpetuates the larger problem: Assholes with big mouths.

MFL:For as intelligent progressives fancy themselves as being....why is it that the majority of people we see on TV pushing their causes are lunatics and idiots?

Pundits get paid to make outrageous comments whether they believe them or not. It gets press, and it gets real-life whackjobs up in arms about things. El Rushbo, Mann Coulter, Joy Behar, Bill Maher , et al, can't possibly believe everything they say. It's written by a team of people for maximum profit, buzz, and outrage.

Whatever. We need more firebrands like this. The right can make outrageous comments with impunity, and it's goddamn effective. Look at the course of dialogue in this nation. It keeps moving further and further right. Why is it when a liberal says something outrageous, they immediately have to apologize?